Protecting Hummingbirds

Hummingbirds face many dangers in their everyday lives while eating, flying, or perching. When you are setting up your yard landscape to be “hummingbird friendly”, always keep thinking of ways to protect them. Danger can come in many forms. One may be from one of their own kind who feels his territory has been invaded.

Extreme weather is always a concern; a heavy frost is as potentially fatal as severe heat and drought (due to dehydration).

Strong winds can blow hummingbirds into hard, blunt or sharp objects, so it's a good idea to provide wind protection by the types of trees and shrubs you plant in your lawn. A heavy downpour can also cause problems, as it can force a hummingbird into water and drown them.

Physical objects can pose a danger. Hummingbirds sometimes accidentally fly into any number of things: windows, trees, cars, etc. Often they're just stunned and will get up and fly away. Other times they may need first-aid.

Predators impose grave dangers too. Domestic cats are a huge problem. Because hummingbirds zip and dart around, cats enjoy the game of stalking, catching and killing them. Even frogs, fish, snakes and lizards can snag a low-flying hummingbird.

Other dangers include larger, aggressive birds who will kill and eat smaller birds, squirrels who raid the bird feeders or insects who invade hummingbird feeders. Squirrels, chipmunks, blue jays and crows will eat hummingbird eggs and babies.

Lastly, do not use chemical pesticides in your yard. Hummingbirds feed on insects for protein, and can accidentally ingest poisoned ones. Best to let hummingbirds control the bug problem. And do not spray your flowers with pesticides; hummingbirds will be certain to ingest it when they gather nectar from the blossoms.

Here are some ways of protecting hummingbirds to resolve these problematic situations, making your bird feeders one of the most popular and most frequented in the neighborhood – resulting in hours of bird watching fun for you and your family.

Protecting Hummingbirds from Insects

There are a number of dangers to hummingbirds as they go through life. Extreme weather in the form of cold, heat, drought, winds and heavy downpours can threaten or kill hummingbirds. Predators impose grave dangers too, and these include blue jays, crows, squirrels, chipmunks and domestic cats as well.

Even frogs, fish, snakes and lizards can snag a low-flying hummingbird. The use of pesticides in your yard is dangerous to hummingbirds. Ingesting pesticide-tainted insects or flower nectar can inadvertently poison them. Hummingbirds can also be threatened by members of their own species as they compete for food resources or mates. Equally important are the hummingbird feeder pests that come in the form of insects who invade hummingbird feeders.

There is nothing more frustrating than having insects occupy your hummingbird feeders. Here are some solutions to the dilemma of ants and bees invading your hummingbird feeder, and specific ways to protect your birds from this annoyance.

Deterring Insects

Ants, bees and wasps are attracted to the same sugar nectar that hummingbirds like. And where do they find it? Right in the hummingbird feeder you put up in your yard. This makes it difficult for your hummingbirds to feed safely. Not only do these insects steal the nectar, but they can also contaminate it – which discourages hummingbirds from using that feeder.

Perky-Pet® has several excellent and well thought out solutions to resolve your hummingbird feeder ant problems. One of our products, called Ant Guard, is placed above your Hummingbird feeder. The Perky-Pet® Ant Guard uses Permethrin, a chemical that repels ants, but has been proven safe to use around birds, pets and people.

Another great solution is feeders with ant moats. These feeders have a unique was of keeping these pests away. Some feeders are designed with built-in ant moats, which is simply an area on the top of feeder that can be easily filled with a small amount of water to keep the ants at bay. Try as they might, ants are unable to get around this barrier, thereby keeping the nectar in your feeders uncontaminated and pest-free for the hummingbirds.

If bees, hornets or wasps are invading your feeder, your best bet is to purchase a hummingbird feeder with built-in bee guards. These are mesh-guards that prevent bees and wasps access to the feeding ports

If bees, hornets or wasps are invading your feeder, your best bet is to purchase a Perky-Pet® hummingbird feeder that has built-in bee guards. Made of mesh or simply just a raised port, the guards make sure that bees and wasps do not gain access to the feeding ports.

Birdfeeders.com is the top destination to find quality Wild Bird Feeders and Accessories. Perky-Pet®, K-Feeders® and NO/NO® wild bird products are trusted brands to bird lovers everywhere. Interact with nature, relax and build memories that last a lifetime by conveniently ordering from birdfeeders.com. Happy Bird Feeding!